#glam
Let me start by saying that the results of my Zoom whitening treatment were excellent. My teeth, which were starting to appear more than a little jaundiced after many, many cups of coffee over the years, are now a solid two shades whiter. So I guess it was worth it?
But oh my god, it was miserable while it was happening.
Every night of my life, I take a bath. But for the past two or so months, I have added several steps to this habit, because I have finally, at the tender age of 37, decided to try to actually put this whole "self-care" hoo-ha into practice.
And so every night, here is what I do:
If you're going to say that this all sounds like a whooooole lot of work...I mean, yeah. It is. But I also do it while catching up on The Bachelorette on my computer, and it's my Me Time. Non-negotiable.
Remember the other week, when Kendrick had the kids and I was all I have no idea what to doooooo? Well, he had the kids again this weekend, and I went ahead and figured that one out.
So, because these are the big questions in life, here is what to do if you have found yourself newly separated, and do not have your kids for a bit. (I put in step-by-step format, because I consider everything here to be essential.)
I had never heard of a Baja Shelf - or Ledge Loungers (which are the ridiculously glamorous chair you see me and Erin sitting in above) - until about six months ago. And now I am not entirely sure how this was so, because it seems to me that every pool-owning person should prooooooobably be on the receiving end of this info.
I've talked about the Baja Shelf before, but since the concept of one was totally new to me, I thought it was worth revisiting. When I decided to redo my pool (not really an option, actually, since the plaster was cracking all over the place), the guy who came over to help me plan it said "Hey, what about a Baja Shelf?" Cleeeeeearly an attempt at upselling me, but once I saw what it was I was all hook, line and sinker. Would I also like to have a built-in hole in this shelf for an umbrella? WHY NOT. Because seriously, if you're going to do a project as massive as a full pool renovation, you might as well do it right.
And "right," to me, means being able to be in the water without actually having to, you know, expend any effort to do so. (BTW, just a recap, if you're curious how we paid for our renovations.)
My children go back to school in less than a month. (Much less.) I am confused by this, because I distinctly remember school starting in September when I was a wee one, but apparently either the days are shorter or the vacations are more abundant, or we're just sending kids to school for (much) more of the year, because August 15th it is.
Which means we have just a little over two weeks left of for-real summer. And since this summer has been less-than-restful so far, I've decided to do my best to make these last few weeks as fun and peaceful (and SIMPLE, please) as possible. My mom is coming out, which is nice, and means that a pedicure is probably in my future. And my daughter's birthday is soon, so a rainbow cake will be made (or at least attempted).
But mostly, what I want to do with these last few summer days is read books. By the pool, in the sand, while hiding in my car during gymnastics classes (who was the genius who decided that nowadays parents must physically watch all of their children's after school activities?? Didn't parents used to...drop kids off for these things? And then go do their things - such as read books while hiding in their cars - while their children were safe and otherwise occupied? Just wondering).
Sunday Somewhere Sunglasses | Rothy's Flats c/o | Cloverpost Hoops | Tiny Tags Necklace
Howwwww did I not know about these shoes? Seriously: it makes no sense. They are perfect in every way, and are in every way exactly what I'm always looking for, and it appears that everyone in the world except for me already knew about them.
My personal discovery came courtesy of my friend Tia. When she was visiting the other week she showed me her (adorable, pointy-but-not-too-pointy, toe-cleavage-y-but-not-too-toe-cleavagey, and, ahem, camo-print) flats, and told me that I needed to a) own them, and then b) write about them. Because Tia is all kinds of smart, it is generally a good idea to listen to her, and so?
The duct tape that saved the day.
I thought I'd emerge from this camping trip with some profound words of wisdom. Woman of the Woods, So Independent, WE CAN DO IT, etc etc.
And I do feel pretty...if not badass, certainly something approaching it.
From my IG:
i had plans to go camping with my girlfriend and our kids tomorrow, but she had to cancel. i was already intimidated by the idea of camping with just us and the kids (and no husbands or other man-type figures), and so i figured i should probably just skip it too. i mean, for real: i’m pretty strong, but i can’t even begin to wrap my mind around how to haul out and set up a ten million pound tent all on my own, let alone do all the other things that camping involves, like starting fires and battling rattlesnakes.
but my kids want to camp. and this summer has been shit so far, and i want to camp too.
The strangest thing happened over the weekend. I dropped off the kids with their dad for a bit, and headed back home, intending to check a bunch of things off my to-do list (fold laundry, start dinner, vacuum, whatever), and then I thought...f it. None of these are things that can't wait. I'm going to do what I want to do for a minute. I'm going to do something that makes me happy.
And then I realized that I had absolutely no idea what that might be.
I'm serious. I had virtually no idea what I might want to do - just me, with no one else's wants to think about. Did I want to...read? Nap? Watch a movie? I sifted through all the things that sounded like, you know, things people do when they're relaxing, but nothing sounded even vaguely appealing. You know what I really wanted to do? Fold laundry. Start dinner. Tick boxes off lists.
current mood via.
In couples' counseling a couple of weeks ago, I started yelling. I went into the session determined - promising myself - that I wouldn't go there, that I'd follow the rules (use "I feel" language, try not to stick to my "personal narrative," et cetera auuuuuuugh), and that I'd be calm and clear and loving. That I'd talk less, and listen more.
And then, all of a sudden, I was in that place again: the angry place that I didn't know existed in me, but that I sure as hell know about now.
